A Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time by Rose

1880. He then entered the law office of his brother, Ernest Pacaud, well

known in Quebec city as a man of ability and learning, but the spirit of activity within him was such as to induce him to forsake the law for the equally honorable and more exciting profession of journalism, and accordingly, in 1881, he became editor of _Le Patriote_, published in Bay City, Michigan, by another brother, H. A. Pacaud. In 1884 he returned to Canada, and took the editorial chair of _Le Progress_, published in Windsor by still another brother, Aurèle Pacaud, and has edited this paper ever since. _Le Progress_ is the only French paper published in Western Ontario, and has a high standing among the reform papers of the province. At the last general election Mr. Pacaud was returned by the Reformers of North Essex as their representative in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and there is no member of that body who tries more to advance the interests of his constituents than he does. A fact which may be taken as strong evidence of the magnetism and personal popularity of Mr. Pacaud is this, that although such a young man—young in years as well as in political life—and although resident but a short time in a county which never before elected a Liberal, yet he defeated Mr. Sol. White, who was so well known as the leader of the Opposition’s first lieutenant. The attention which Mr. Pacaud has given to his parliamentary duties, and the fluency of his speech when he has addressed the house, are evidences to his friends that, although the youngest member of the house, Mr. Pacaud is destined to make his mark, and possibly to rise to a yet higher position in the future. Mr. Pacaud is the son of Philippe Napoléon Pacaud, who so powerfully seconded Papineau, in 1837 and 1838, by putting his life and his immense wealth at the service of the great cause of his fellow countrymen, and is one of five brothers, three of whom are journalists, and two lawyers. Every reader of Canadian history knows the name of Pacaud, the bearers of this name having distinguished themselves in many ways. The Pacaud family, indeed, is well known as one of the oldest and most distinguished in the province of Quebec. * * * * * =Mowat, Hon. Oliver=, Q.C., LL.D., Premier of the province of Ontario, is descended of a stock that has given Canada many of its foremost men in almost every public department in the land, namely, the Canadian-Scotch. His father, John Mowat, was from Canisbay, Caithness-shire, Scotland. He was a soldier who had seen stern service during the Peninsular wars. His wife, Helen Levack, was also a native of Caithness-shire. They came to Canada in 1816, and settled in Kingston, where their son Oliver was born, on July 22, 1820. His education was as good as the schools of that city afforded at that date. At about the age of seventeen he entered the law office of Mr. (now Sir) John A. Macdonald, who, a young man but five years his senior, had just been admitted to the bar, and had settled down to practise his profession. At the outset of his student life young Mowat was called on to serve as a volunteer in the rebellion of 1837. It may well be supposed that the state of parties and affairs in Canada to which his attention was thus early and practically called must have afforded him food for thought, and had much effect in shaping his after course. It is certainly noteworthy, as indicating both mental independence and moral earnestness of no common order, that, born as he was of Conservative parents, surrounded with Conservative influences, and trained in the study of a profession which is more closely related to politics than any other, in the office and under the direct influence of a man whose brilliant talents and personal magnetism have long been and still are the strongest forces on the side of Conservatism in Canada, Oliver Mowat should have chosen that broad-minded, moderate Liberalism, of whose principles he has ever since been so able an exponent, and so steadfast a promoter. He was called to the bar in 1842, and commenced his practice in Kingston, but very soon afterwards came to Toronto, where he has ever since resided. At a time when the line of demarcation between common law and equity was much more clearly drawn than at present, Mr. Mowat chose the latter branch. He rose quickly to eminence at the Chancery bar. In 1856 he was appointed by the government of which Hon. John A. Macdonald was a member, as commissioner for consolidating the Statutes of Canada and of Upper Canada respectively, a position which he held until 1859. In 1857 he was elected to parliament as member for South Oxford, and continued to represent that constituency until 1864. Upon the fall of the Macdonald-Cartier government, in 1867, he was selected, though he had been but one year in the house, to fill the office of provincial secretary in the Brown-Dorion administration. He held the portfolio of postmaster-general in the Coalition government formed by Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald, in 1861, a position which he retained until the defeat of that government, in 1864. He was also a member of the memorable Union Conference which met at Quebec in 1864, and framed the confederation scheme; but his acceptance, a few months later, of the vice-chancellorship of Upper Canada deprived the framers of the Confederation Act of his services in the subsequent deliberations. When the Dual Representation Act compelled the retirement of Messrs. Blake and Mackenzie from the leadership of the Ontario legislature, in 1872, he was called on by the lieutenant-governor, acting no doubt on the advice of the retiring premier, to form an administration. His descent from the bench and re-entrance into political life gave occasion for a good deal of discussion at the time, on the part of those who thought, or affected to think, that the purity of the judicial ermine must be in some way contaminated by the change. The answer, if any is needed, to those who think that the position of head of the Provincial government is one requiring either mental or moral qualifications of a lower order than those of even the chancellor’s bench, is to be found in the record of sixteen years of able, upright, and progressive government of the affairs of Ontario. Those must be wilfully purblind who cannot now see that the judicial temperament and habit, with all of mental training and capacity, and of moral integrity they imply, furnish the very best of qualifications for the responsible and honorable position of virtual ruler of a great province. Sound discretion, marked ability, and sterling integrity have characterised Hon. Mr. Mowat’s career in each division of his professional and official life. As a lawyer, his talents quickly gained recognition, and, reinforced by his clear judgment and scrupulous conscientiousness, soon won for him a high place in the confidence of the profession and of the court in which he practised. Though not fluent, he was energetic, forcible, and convincing as a pleader. His patience was admirable, his industry untiring, his fertility in resources great. He was said to be endowed in large measure with the power of “thinking out” a subject, and was believed to be stronger in ability to go to the bottom of the subject than any of his contemporaries. As a judge, he exhibited qualities of both head and heart which, while they won for him respect and admiration, gained also esteem and friendship in high degree. His great business and executive ability quickly showed itself in the improved conduct and quicker despatch of the business of the court. As the head of the government, his record has long been before the people of Ontario. The mere enumeration of the reforms that have been effected, and the beneficial acts passed during his _régime_, would occupy more space than we have at our disposal. The judicious settlement of the vexed question of the municipal loan fund; the liberal and salutary provisions of the local Railway Acts; the consolidation of the Provincial Statutes; the local option principle reduced to practice in the Liquor Acts; the General Incorporation Act, by which so much economy of time has been secured in the Legislative Assembly; the well-considered and systematic aid to public charities; the changes by which the education department has been relieved of irresponsible and bureaucratic character, and put in charge of a responsible minister; the progressive legislation in connection with higher education and the University of Toronto; the introduction of the ballot in political and municipal elections; the liberalising of the franchise up to the verge of universal suffrage; all these, and many other legislative reforms wrought under this _régime_, will be lasting monuments of his statesmanship. Mr. Mowat’s legislation, though uniformly Liberal and progressive, has never been sensational. His opponents have sometimes charged him with timidity. That wise caution that refuses to move blindly under irresponsible pressure, that waits to look on all sides of a question, and goes forward only when the way is made clear, is certainly his. But that cowardly fear of censure which shrinks and hesitates on the brink of what is seen to be right and just, for fear of consequences, cannot be laid to his charge. No really urgent legislation in the interests of Liberalism and progress has been unduly delayed through his fault. The manner in which he has met and vanquished, not only in the local political arena, but in the highest court of the realm, Sir John A. Macdonald, with all the power and prestige of his own high reputation and the Dominion premiership at his back, sufficiently attests his courage in doing what he deems the right. The vindication of provincial rights in the matters of the Boundary, the Rivers and Streams Bills, and the license question, are services rendered by Oliver Mowat which will long be remembered by a grateful province. As leader of the Ontario government, in the house and out, Mr. Mowat’s address and tactics are admirable. Clear-headed and logical in debate; cautious in committing himself, yet, when occasion demands, prompt in decision and firm in action; uniformly courteous and affable, yet ready and keen in retort, and often turning the tables on an opponent most effectively; keeping himself thoroughly informed on all important questions; exhibiting on all occasions a sound judgment, combined with a ready wit, he inspires his colleagues and followers with confidence, and generally holds at bay or discomfits his most eager assailants. In some of these respects, notably in the extent and fulness of his knowledge of the subjects under debate, and in the soundness and acumen of his opinions on juridical and jurisdictional questions, his record compares most favorably with that of his great antagonist, the veteran leader of the Dominion government. To say that he may have sometimes made mistakes in judgment and policy, and that he has not uniformly steered clear of the dangerous reefs which abound in the streams of patronage, is but to admit that he is human and consequently fallible. Hon. Mr. Mowat has always taken a deep interest in social and religious questions. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, and was for many years president of the Evangelical Alliance. Like most men who have wrought earnestly and conscientiously for the public good in any sphere, his philanthropy and integrity are, no doubt, deep-based upon the firm foundation of religious principle. It has been sneeringly insinuated that he has claimed for himself the high honor of being a “Christian politician;” but it is unnecessary to say that the charge is without foundation. It seems to have originated in a perversion of a hypothetical allusion in one of his speeches to what might be considered the duty of a Christian politician, in some specified case. To arrogate to himself the distinctive title was farthest from his thought, and a boast would be as repugnant to his good sense and taste as to the modesty for which he is distinguished. That he is a faithful and devout member of an influential Christian church is a crime which will be readily forgiven him in view of the great services he has rendered to society and the state. * * * * * =Desaulniers, Denis Benjamin William=, Nicolet, Governor of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Province of Quebec, was born on the 5th of December, 1839, at St. Anthony de la Rivière du Loup, near Maskinonge. His father, Antoine Lesieur Desaulniers, was an agriculturist of Rivière du Loup. His mother was Maria Emelie Beland. The Lesieur-Desaulniers were a numerous family, and inhabited a large portion of the parishes of Yamachiche and Rivière du Loup. Our present subject was brought up with his family until the age of thirteen, and in the month of September, 1853, he entered the seminary of Nicolet, where he made his classical course with great success. In the month of May, 1860, he obtained from the Board of Physicians his license for the study of medicine, and studied two years under the patronage of Dr. Alexis Milette. In 1862, in the month of September, he entered the Laval University at Quebec to complete his course, and was the most solid and substantial of all the students of his time. During his last two years he carried off the first “Morin,” this prize having been only twice offered to the pupils whilst pursuing his course. On the 10th October, 1865, he was admitted to the practice of medicine, after a severe examination before the Provincial Board of Physicians, and the same year he established himself in the parish of Rivière du Loup, now Louiseville. A year after, in October, 1866, being equally successful in the practice of his profession as well as literary pursuits, he was called to Nicolet to take charge of the seminary there, the pupils and all connected with this important institution, a post which he still fills. Later, upon the establishment of the convent of the Sœurs de l’Assomption at Nicolet, he was made physician to the institution. In 1886, when L’Hotel Dieu of Nicolet was inaugurated by the Sœurs Grises of St. Hyacinthe, he was again selected as first acting physician to the house. Dr. Desaulniers has been very fortunate in the practice of his profession, but his great specialty has been midwifery. He has closely followed the progress of medicine in its many branches, and therefore is one of the foremost physicians of the day. His unprecedented success in the past promises a brilliant future. On the 31st of August, in the year 1881, he was appointed coroner, in conjunction with Dr. S. Ed. Badeau, for the district of Three Rivers, and occupied this office for two years, when he was obliged to resign to fulfil the requirements of his profession. Seven years after Dr. Desaulniers arrival at Nicolet, the village was raised to a town, and it then became necessary to form a town council, of which he was chosen and elected by a large majority first mayor of Nicolet. Of course he had everything to do, and the greater part of the rules and regulations now in force were passed during his administration. At the completion of his term of office he retired, and gave himself up entirely to the practice of his profession, which had become very extensive. In 1877, he was elected governor of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the province of Quebec for the district of Three Rivers, and has held that position since that date. He was born in the Roman Catholic religion, and has ever remained faithful to his church principles. Dr. Desaulniers married on the 12th January, 1869, Marie Rose de Lima Proulx, second daughter of Hubert Proulx, of Nicolet, and in May, 1879, his wife died, leaving three infant daughters. He was married the second time, on July 13th, 1880, to Marie Célanire Gagnon, widow of late Louis Ludger Richard, and daughter of Antoine Gagnon, agent for the Crown lands at Arthabaskaville. In May, 1884, he again had the misfortune of losing his wife, who left an infant daughter. * * * * * =King, James=, Quebec. Few men engaged in the staple trade of the port of Quebec hold a more conspicuous position or enjoy a larger share of public confidence and respect than the subject of this sketch, not only for his business enterprise and success, but for his integrity in all the relations of life. Mr. King is the Quebec member of the great lumbering and lumber exporting firm of King Brothers and King Brothers & Co., which are among the largest operators in the province, their establishments being scattered all over, from the Eastern townships to Gaspé. In fact, few commercial houses have been or are more powerful contributors to Lower Canadian development. Their _chantiers_ and saw mills at St. Jean Deschaillons, Lyster, Levis, River Ouelle, Cedar Hall, Grand Pabos, and Robertson Station, give employment and support to considerable communities, the products of whose industry, chiefly in the shape of pine and spruce deals, are annually exported to the United Kingdom and the continent of Europe. The firms, of which Mr. King is a leading member, are also largely interested in the important asbestos industry of the province of Quebec, being the proprietors of extensive areas of asbestos-bearing lands in the eastern townships, and notably of the “Hampden” and “Thetford Royal” mines in Thetford, Megantic county; and Mr. King himself is a director and manager of the Asbestos Mining and Manufacturing Company of Canada. He is further largely interested in rural real estate, being the seigneur of the seigniories of St. Jean Déschaillons and Lake Matapedia. He is the youngest son of the late Charles King, of Lyster, Megantic, and was born at St. Antoine de Tilly, in Lotbinière county, P.Q., on the 18th February, 1848. Educated at Lennoxville, he took his degrees of B.A. in 1867, and of M.A. in 1873, at the University of Bishop’s College, and during his university course was a member of the college volunteer corps. In religion he belongs to the Church of England, and has been a lay delegate to the Synod of the diocese of Quebec. In politics he is a Liberal-Conservative, and has frequently been pressed to offer himself for Parliamentary honors, but has hitherto refused to accept nomination at the hands of his party, feeling that his business engagements absorbed too much of his time and attention. Nevertheless he has always taken a strong interest in educational matters. His travels have extended to the United Kingdom and the continent of Europe. He is unmarried, and a member of the Garrison Club, Quebec. * * * * * =Davidson, Hon. Justice Charles Peers=, Montreal, was born at Huntingdon, province of Quebec, where his family had long been prominent in the development of the county, and defence of the frontier. His grandfather, Colonel Davidson, came from Scotland, and was in command of the Huntingdon volunteers, in which his father held a captaincy, and which formed part of the brigade under the command of the late Major-General Campbell. Colonel Davidson, at the commencement of the troubles of 1837 and the following year, was sent for by the commander-in-chief of the British forces in Canada, Sir John Colborne, who requested him to raise a regiment. He accepted, and soon after his return to Huntingdon, succeeded in enrolling about six hundred stalwart men from among the farmers, most of whom were immigrants from the old country. The regiment, which was called “The Huntingdon Frontier Volunteers,” numbered in its ranks many men who afterwards became prominent in political and social life. One company was stationed at Russelltown, a second at Covey Hill, and the third as far as Hemmingford. Colonel Davidson, for the first year, was in command, not only of the regiment, but of the whole district; in the second year, Colonel Campbell, subsequently major-general, assumed command of the district, and the volunteers were enrolled in the brigade which was afterwards under the gallant Sir George Cathcart, then only colonel, who fell at the battle of Inkerman at the head of the 1st Dragoon Guards, which he commanded. One company of this regiment was commanded by Captain Reid, a veteran of Waterloo. In this company also was Sir John Rose, the eminent statesman and financier, now of London, England. The Huntington volunteers did good service, but were only in one action, that of St. Regis. From the foregoing it will be seen that Justice Davidson comes of a military family, his mother, Marion Peers, being the daughter of the late Lieutenant Peers, of Her Majesty’s Dragoon Guards. He went to the Huntington Academy, subsequently attended at Victoria College, Cobourg, and thence passed to McGill University, from which he received the degree of B.A. and M.A. in arts, and B.C.L. and D.C.L. in law, and was for a number of years one of its fellows. Even while a student he studied the public questions of the day, being a welcome contributor to the press, and for a time was assistant editor on the _Daily News_. Had he followed the profession of journalism, he would have achieved marked success. The press proved a good training school, and those who listened to Justice Davidson’s eloquent speeches gave him a high place among public speakers. He studied with the present Justice Cross, and subsequently entered that gentleman’s law firm as junior partner. Several years ago he was created Queen’s counsel by the Provincial government, but the Supreme Court holding that the provinces were without authority to confer this title, he subsequently received a new patent from the Dominion authorities. He has been a life-long supporter of athletic exercises, having been for sometime president of the Beaver Lacrosse Club, of the Montreal Snow-Shoe Club, and of the Victoria Skating Club. During the _Trent_ affair in 1862, which threatened to involve Great Britain in hostilities with the United States, he was one of the first to enrol himself in the ranks of the newly formed Victoria Rifles, and rose by successive promotions until he became its commanding officer. His _bonhommie_ and dash render him very popular in his regiment, while his pre-eminence in athletic sports and engaging social qualities, make him as popular in society as his legal attainments, quick perceptive faculties, convincing oratory, devoid of florid ornamentation, did among the shrewd practical plutocrats of Montreal. In politics Mr. Davidson was a Conservative, having been president of the Junior Conservative Club for several years. In 1881 he was a candidate for the Quebec parliament for Montreal Centre, but was defeated by George Washington Stephens, a powerful opponent, by ninety-eight votes. He married Alice, daughter of the late Wm. Mattice, of Cornwall, who for a number of years represented Stormont in the parliament of the united Canadas. Mr. Justice Davidson was called to the bench of the Superior Court in June, 1887, upon the death of the late Justice Torrance. * * * * * =Coursol, Captain Charles Joseph Quesnel=, St. John’s, Quebec, was born 17th August, 1856, at Montreal. His parents are Charles J. Coursol, Q.C., M.P., and Helen Taché. The subject of this sketch was educated at the Jesuits’ College, Montreal, taking a full classical course. He received a commission as lieutenant in the Victoria Rifles of Canada in October, 1877; was transferred to the 65th Batt. in November, 1880, and promoted to a captaincy in April, 1881. He served for eighteen months with A Battery, R.C.A., and also several months with H.M. 19th or Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment, then stationed at Halifax. On the 21st December, 1883, he received a commission in the Infantry School Corps, now stationed at St. John’s, Quebec. In religion he is a Roman Catholic. He was married on the 18th October, 1882, to E. F. Pearce Serecold, daughter of the late Captain Pearce Serecold, of H.M. 66th regiment, and Miss Duval, daughter of the Hon. Justice Duval. Captain Coursol is also a grand nephew of the late Hon. F. A. Quesnel of the Legislative Council. * * * * * =Pim, Richard=, Toronto. This gentleman, who was a resident of Toronto for over fifty years, died on the morning of the 14th February, 1888, in the seventy-eighth year of his age. He was a native of Herefordshire, England, and spent part of his early life in Russia, whither his father had gone to erect paper mills of the then most improved description for the Russian government. Upon the death of his father, at Helsingfors, near St. Petersburg, he returned to England, and married Mary Hargrave, grand-daughter of William Lane, a poet of considerable local distinction in Buckinghamshire. He emigrated to Canada in 1834, and during the stirring political events of 1837, served in the militia called out to repress the rebellion of that year, and was on guard below the Falls of Niagara when the American steamer _Caroline_ was cut loose by a British attacking party, and sent burning over the Falls. Mr. Pim led a quiet life, and was well-known in Toronto. * * * * * =Irvine, Hon. George=, Q.C., D.C.L., one of the best known and most eminent members of the Quebec bar, is the eldest son of the late Lieut.-Colonel Irvine, principal A.D.C. to the Governor-General of Canada, and grandson of the Hon. James Irvine, for many years a member of the Executive and Legislative Councils of Lower Canada, and of the Hon. Matthew Bell, of Three Rivers, P.Q., at one time member for St. Maurice in the Legislature of Lower Canada, and afterwards a member of the Legislative Council of that province. He was born at Quebec on the 16th November, 1826, and was educated at Dr. Lundy’s school in that city. Having chosen the law as his profession, he was called to the bar in 1848, after the usual course of study, and rapidly rose to distinction, his services being retained in nearly every important case, especially of a commercial nature. In partnership with the late C. G. Holt, Q.C., afterwards judge of the sessions of the peace for the Quebec district, and subsequently with E. H. Pemberton, he practised his profession with steady success and honor, and in 1867 was created a Q.C. in recognition of his leading position at the Quebec bar. Some years previously to this, in 1863, the electors of Megantic county, P.Q., had marked their appreciation of his abilities and exalted character, by returning him at the general election of that year to represent them in the Canadian House of Assembly, in which he continued to sit until confederation, when he was returned for Megantic to the Commons, and represented that county at Ottawa until the abolition of dual representation and the general election of 1872, when he declined re-election. He also represented the county in the Legislative Assembly of the province of Quebec from confederation until January, 1876, and during this period successively held the important Cabinet offices of solicitor-general and attorney-general of that province in the Chauveau and Ouimet administrations, being regarded as the leader of the English element in those governments, and the special champion of the English-speaking and Protestant minority in Lower Canada. In January, 1876, he resigned his seat in the Legislature, on being appointed one of the railway commissioners for the province, which office he also resigned in 1878, in order to present himself for re-election as a supporter of Mr. Joly’s administration, in which he was offered, but declined, a seat. At the general election of that year, he was again returned to represent Megantic in the Legislative Assembly, and once more at the general election of 1880, when he went with his leader, Mr. Joly, into opposition to the Chapleau and Mousseau governments, until June, 1884, when he resigned his seat on accepting the appointment of judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court at Quebec. Throughout his public career, Mr. Irvine was one of the most conspicuous men in the house and before the country, and the organization and legislation of the province of Quebec, under confederation, still bear the impress of his powerful mind. A gentleman of wonderful tact and suavity of manner, a skilful parliamentarian, and a man of rare executive ability, he wielded an immense influence in the councils of that province, and on public opinion. As a speaker and debater, he was not only remarkable for his ready eloquence, but above all for his clearness, precision and logical force. He was a host in himself, and the side which received his support seldom failed to score a victory. As the representative of the English-speaking minority, he retained the public confidence to the last, as much by the independence and personal purity of his character as by his commanding talents. A Conservative by tradition and instinct, he nevertheless did not hesitate to separate himself from the party in provincial politics when the acts of some of his colleagues in the “Tanneries Land Swap” and other matters brought disgrace upon its escutcheon, and his conduct was not only ratified by his own immediate constituents of Megantic, but warmly approved by his fellow-countrymen generally. During the Joly administration he was the “power-behind the throne,” and afterwards, until his resignation of his seat in the house for good, the most conspicuous figure in the Provincial Opposition, next to the leader himself. Although actually the judge of the Vice-Admiralty Court at Quebec, an Imperial appointment, the subject of this sketch still practises his profession in the other courts, and is generally found engaged in all the more important cases, both civil and criminal. He was formerly professor of commercial law in Morrin College, Quebec, and was also chancellor of the University of Lennoxville, P.Q., from which he received the honorary degree of D.C.L., in 1875. He has also been _bâtonnier_ of the Quebec bar and a vice-president of the Union Bank of Canada, at Quebec, which he helped to found. In religion he is a member of the Church of England, and has always taken a keen and active interest in its affairs. He has travelled a good deal on public and professional business, and has repeatedly crossed to England to plead before the Privy Council in appeals of great importance. Has two brothers living, the elder, Commissary-General Matthew Bell Irvine, C.B., C.M.G., and the younger, Lieut.-Col. Acheson Gosford Irvine, a member of the Council of the North-West Territories, and late Commissioner North-West Mounted Police. He married, in August, 1856, the third daughter of the late Henry Le Mesurier, a well-known merchant of Quebec, and formerly an officer in H.M. 48th regiment, and by her has had issue ten children. * * * * * =Cadman, James=, Civil and Mining Engineer, Quebec, is a good type of the men to whose professional skill and energy the eastern section of the Dominion is indebted for so much of its development by railways within the last twenty years. An Englishman, by birth, he has all the Englishman’s well known doggedness of character, and all the trained engineer’s abiding faith in the invincibility of science and the power of mind over matter. The word “impossible” has long since been erased from his lexicon, as illustrated especially by the great undertaking with which his name has been more prominently connected of late, the construction of the railway from Quebec to Lake St. John through a region of unparalleled difficulty from the engineering point of view. Mr. Cadman was born in Dudley, Worcestershire, England, on the 31st January, 1832, his father’s name being also James Cadman, and his mother’s originally, Sarah Forrest Brown. He received a good plain English education at the Blue Coat School, Dudley, and studied civil and mining engineering under S. H. Blackwell, of Russell’s Hall Colliery, Dudley, of which he was afterwards appointed resident engineer. He subsequently distinguished himself in the same capacity in a number of the other great English collieries and iron works until 1862, when he came to New Brunswick as mining engineer for the New Brunswick Charcoal and Pig Iron Company. In 1867, he became connected as resident engineer with the European and North-American Railway, and in 1868 was appointed assistant engineer of the Intercolonial Railway, in the location and construction of which he took an active part until 1875, when he was retained for the survey of the Newfoundland Railway. On his return from Newfoundland, he was named locating engineer of the North Shore Railway, in which position he continued to act until 1879, when he was raised to the still more prominent and responsible post of chief engineer of the Quebec and Lake St. John Railway, which he still holds with great advantage to the success of that arduous and important enterprise. Mr. Cadman is a member of the Church of England, and a Freemason. He has never taken any part in politics in England or Canada, not even to vote. In his early manhood, he was for three years a member of the South Staffordshire Rifle Volunteers. In 1860, he married Margaret Doughty, a niece of the celebrated mining engineer, John Yardley, of East Worcestershire, by whom he has had a family of five children, three of whom are still living. * * * * * =Kelly, Francis=, J.P., Joliette, Quebec province, is a native of Ireland, having been born in Carlow, Leinster, on the 17th of March,